ZX Zero Series: The Ultimate Program
by TheGirlWithFarTooManyIdeas
Summary: Zero 3 AU. Omega Zero. The ultimate maverick. When he and his master Weil were banished from Neo Arcadia, the Judges removed a critical component in his system. Before that, a group of scientists discovered something fantastic in their quest to create another X. 200 years later, a young reploid girl finds her body hijacked, her world half destroyed, and a frightening new destiny.
1. Chapter 1

**ZX Zero: The Ultimate Program**

 **Wanda: (playing Megaman Zero on her brother's 3DS) It took way too damn long to find a system with a working L button. I swear to god, this game is nearly impossible without the ability to dash...**

 **Tyene: ...You've been playing that since yesterday. Well, that and writing nonstop. And suddenly the Waiting Room is packed to capacity. What the HELL are you up to?**

 **Wanda: Returning to my very first fandom.**

 **Tyene: ...And how long is this one going to be?**

 **Wanda: (shrugs) I'm afraid to give anything away. Honestly, I'm pretty excited. I do not own anything in the Mega Man series.**

 **Prologue: Fusion Dance**

Her dreams were blurry and violent.

She was always falling – whether through air or through the darkness surrounding her, she couldn't tell. Explosions sounded in the distance and the salty tang of blood mixed with oil surrounded her at all times.

It all felt familiar, but as she strained to see and understand it all dissolved like water in the wind. Cities going up in flames, a colossal ship falling from the sky, friends dropping one by one.

She also remembered a violet light, but she tried to ignore that one – whenever she focused on it, she felt terrible pain throughout her body.

There were moments when she was almost awake; she could see sparks flying throughout a white room as robed people walked around her, shouting incomprehensible things. Then one of them would notice her trying to look about the room and the world would go dark once again.

It was frightening. These people seemed alien and monstrous, and she had no idea what they were doing to her.

She wondered if this was a hospital or a prison, wondered if anyone was coming for her, but as her mind grew increasingly blurred all she could conjure up was a flash of red, gold and green eyes.

Memories fell like rain, shattering on the floor to be lost forever. Strangely, she felt almost at peace with this. She wanted to let go of something that had happened, for it to stop tormenting her so she could change her fate...

There was a horrible, yawning pain in her chest. Had they cut her open? Why was she still awake? Who were these people?

"...The Ultimate Program..."

 _...The what...?_ That sounded familiar... ...but as her memories slipped away, she didn't understand what it meant...

"...Sure it will work...? ... ...Omega... ...The power surge... ... destroyed anything else that tried to host him... ..."

The words were garbled; she could barely understand them as she struggled to cling to her life.

Clicking. Wires and cold metal sank into her synthetic skin. The pain was numb compared to her hollow chest and the coldness of her body, but the prickling sensation was revolting... ...She felt like they were hooking her up to something...

Heat. Something was boiling hot nearby...it wasn't anything natural...

It was an emotion so powerful, it sent the whole world to its knees. Hatred.

 _Wait...!_

"...Else would I have gone through so much trouble...?"

 _What are you doing to me...?_

"...restore my greatest war machine..."

 _War...?! No... ...no! NO!_

Her very being recoiled at those words...again, she saw the falling city in her mind, heard the death wail of thousands, the gunfire and the executions. Even if she couldn't remember the names of those she had lost, she knew them still in her heart. She loathed it, loathed the violence and the jackboot it placed on the backs of the innocent.

She tried to move, to get up, get away from these people...but she was too weak, and restrained too heavily. She tried to open her eyes, at least, to see who was doing this...but her vision was blurred...

Then she felt... _him_.

The source of the rage...that carnivorous presence she had sensed nearby...it was getting closer.

Suddenly, the gaping hole in her chest was being filled.

Red hot agony seared her every nerve. She screamed and thrashed in her restraints as it burned her mind and her soul. She felt rage – rage like she had never experienced, rage that was not her own. She cursed and hated the world, felt her hands become sticky with blood and oil.

 _Someone save me!_

Her captors, her tormentors, seemed unmoved by her cries. She swore, over her own screams she could hear an old man laughing sadistically as he watched her struggle.

With the rage and the red hot pain, she realized that she could feel her arms and legs again.

She surged forward, desperation and rage thundering through her in equal strength. The restraints tore away as though they were made of paper. She clenched her fist – and suddenly – she had a sword?

Her heart was pounding. Suddenly she felt like she wasn't alone. There was someone else, almost inside her, guiding her movements -

A flash of red. A scream. Blood splattering all over her face.

 _No no no no no no no!_

Horror and enraged satisfaction.

Another two deaths. The human flesh rent so easily. They were bugs on the ground, and yet they still held themselves so high...

 _No! NO! STOP IT!_

The other being, her dark passenger, paid her no heed – or perhaps her pleads were lost amidst the cacophony of battle cries and his own boundless hatred.

 _STOP IT!_

She wept, pounding her fists helplessly against the barrier of her own mind. All she could see and smell was death.

Her body moved ahead without her, clad first in crimson, then in white – they were leaving the room. They burst through the door, through the mechs guarding the passageways, through the alarms and past the screaming people -

And then they were OUT.

Her dark passenger surprised her then. A surge of elation swept through him.

HE was FREE!

She was scared. What kind of hell had she been brought back to?

She tried reaching out again, trying to take back her body, her autonomy.

Her passenger angrily pushed her back. A pulse of indignation sent her reeling. He seethed at her attempt to re imprison him, right when he had finally escaped. Not now. Not again. He REFUSED to be a chained animal, a slave, any more.

She sank in a corner, recoiling from him. Not just from fear, but horror and a little bit of confusion...and a strange sense of pity.

How could someone feel nothing but hatred?

He kept running. She had no idea where they were going. She didn't recognize the ruined landscape he was leading her through. She didn't see _anything_ that seemed or felt familiar, which only fed into her fear and growing sense of panic.

She knew, right now, that she couldn't take back her body by force. Her passenger was too single minded, to focused for that; she would just end up hurting herself – and maybe him – and that wouldn't do any good at this point.

So she let him lead on – whoever he was, where ever he was going. Perhaps they could both escape what they were running from. Even if she couldn't remember what it was.

 _ **~Much Later~**_

She was beginning to wonder if her passenger ever got tired.

They were being followed – obviously. Whoever had giving her this second life wouldn't just let her stroll out their front door with no plans on returning.

As much as she loathed to admit it, she had to rely on her Dark Passenger. She didn't believe in fighting or violence, but these people did.

This wasn't her only problem; aside from her new body being fused with another, and the strange world she was in.

But what bothered her the most was her inability to _remember_. The only thing that came close to surface of her muddled memory was her _name_ – and when she reached for it, it would slip away.

Perhaps it was simply because she was distracted. The weight of her scenario was weighing heavily on her mind, after all.

Her passenger seemed to be ignoring her now. He was irritably stomping out their pursuers.

The only ones who survived more then one hit from her new, monstrous, white armoured body. The shape shifting was surprisingly painless, compared to her resurrection.

Only a pair of red and blue reploids remained, and they were no match for her passenger.

She didn't want him to kill them – she didn't want to kill _anyone_ \- but what could she do?

"Now you're askin for it..." The red one seethed. He pointed the gun at her/them again. "I'll blast you to pieces!"

 _Why won't you run...? Does no one believe in tactical retreat here...?_

Her passenger snarled wordlessly. She wasn't entirely sure he _could_ speak – he hadn't said anything coherent to her since they were merged.

One hand threw the reploid backwards. She winced, but something began to dawn on her. Her passenger was fixated on his newest prey, who so far had refused to die. Perhaps she could retake her body now, while he was distracted...

The door opened. Another reploid came in.

She gasped.

Her heart started pounding.

He wore crimson armour. Long blonde hair fell down his back. He stepped between her passenger and the two reploids, looking up at her/them without fear...or even surprise.

 _Those eyes...those green eyes...!_

She knew him. Her _heart_ recognized him.

Suddenly, just seeing _him_ , she remembered something about herself. She remembered her name. And his.

"Z...ZERO..."

Her voice was harsh and grating – a mixture of herself and her passenger.

She knew him. He was...something special...something important...

...Did...did he know her?

She had to know...she had to speak to him...

With that thought and a rush of strength she barely recognized as her own, Iris of Repliforce threw her herself against the wall of her mind.

Her passenger squawked in surprise. Fiercely she seized control, pushing him back, taking on her arms and her legs and finally her body in its entirety. The weaponized outer shell surrounding her felt alien – like a coffin.

 _What did they do to me?_

She winced when the passenger attacked the wall, trying to pull her back. She kept her eyes on him...

On Zero...the legendary maverick hunter...

The pain from the lightning was abrupt, dragging her out of her thoughts. She stumbled backwards. Her attacker was another Neo Arcadian soldier...this one wore green.

 _Neo...Arcadia? Oh...must be...one of_ his _memories..._

"Omega...I'm afraid I can't let you leave this place, ever."

 _B-But I'm not Omega...wait!_

Iris opened her mouth, trying to formulate some sort of response, when her (his? their?) body froze up against her will.

Her passenger snarled in rage. He seemed to have expected this.

"Hehehehe...!"

Iris's blood froze. That laugh...it was the man who had done this to her...!

"Omega...now you're meant to fight alongside this one as a citizen of Neo Arcadia...it's rude to beat up a friend, is it not?"

Confusion and panic were returning with a vengeance. Iris tried to move away from the floating man, who was now hovering next to her, but she couldn't move.

"I am Weil...Doctor Weil..."

Iris didn't know him. Her passenger did. He was clawing at her, forcing his way back into the driver's seat. Weakened by the attack, she let go and stumbled back.

She was about to submerge entirely when she heard the words 'Master X.'

Another sharp bolt of familiarity brought her back to the fore. Omega yelped in protest. She stared down at the blue figure.

That...that wasn't X. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she was absolutely certain of it.

Hearing him refer to himself as X sent a bolt of rage through her.

"CHEAP... _FAKE...!_ "

There was no trace of Omega's voice when she said that. It was her own. Everyone looked up at her in shock...except for the fake X and Weil. The Doctor shot her a quick look – one of surprise and anger.

"YOU'RE NOT X."

Doctor Weil scowled and activated the transporter on his arm.

Ultimate Program Omega teleported away...Zero's confused stare burned into her/their memory.

 **End Prologue**

 **I know, a weird concept to be sure, but I have a maniacal plan for this. Bear with me, and I hope you'll be impressed!**

 **Read and Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**ZX Zero: The Ultimate Program**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Mega Man series. If I did, Mega Man Legends 3, X9, and the Advent sequel would have all been made.**

 **Chapter 2: Power of Madness**

She was surrounded by darkness again.

The Doctor had brought them back to Neo Arcadia, and immediately took her/him/them into the crypt below and froze her/him into a containment tube. He was furious. She could still hear his disjointed shouting, broken up as it was by the strikes of lightning she/they had earned for her/his/their disobedience.

It seemed that the Doctor had programmed failsafes into the core body in order to maintain control over his creation – that much she could gather. The program caused her horrible, immobilizing pain...but it was still had nothing on having her heart cut open.

Iris stumbled to her feet, her eyes straining as she stared into the darkness engulfing her.

 _This...this is Deep Sleep..._ She thought.

Deep Sleep referred to whenever a reploid was put into stasis – their consciousness was partway submerged into Cyberspace. Usually they would sink into dreams or their memories...except, she didn't have any memories at the moment, and she wasn't alone.

Her heart jumped, and she looked around frantically. It seemed that she was alone...

"Grrrrr..."

The low grumble forced her to turn around entirely. She gasped and stumbled backwards, her legs freezing up.

He was about six paces away from her, crouched down on the ground. He was clad in crimson and black body armour, with golden wrist and ankle bands. An old Greek letter – the Omega – gleamed brightly in the darkness from the crystal in his helmet. His head was lowered, shielding his eyes from her. His hair was platinum blonde, tangled and messy. A dull, thudding white aura surrounded him, speaking of great and terrible power.

And yet...

He was _small,_ Iris realized as she gazed upon him.

He was definitely shorter than her, though not by too much. His form was very slender for a full sized combat reploid, who were most often more bulky. For all his terrible presence, how the feeling of rage emanated from him...

...He was a _child_.

As if he'd heard her silent conclusion, the reploid's head snapped up. His eyes were a blazing furnace of hatred, crimson as his armour.

He launched himself at her with the force of a bullet...

...Only to crash against an invisible barrier.

Iris flinched as a searing sensation took hold in her chest. She clawed at her collar with both hands as her companion hammered on the wall with both his fists, snarling in rage. Whenever his fist hit the barrier, the pain would grow more intense. Her companion took no heed of this. He stepped back, eyes blazing, before launching himself against it fully.

The searing pain grew blinding, and a brilliant white light exploded out of Iris's chest. With a scream, she collapsed on the unseen floor as the old scar on her chest was reopened. The snarls broke into a startled yelp.

Iris groaned. The pain dimmed, bringing the feeling back into her hands and feet. Still trembling somewhat, she rolled onto her side and gazed up at the source of the light. At first, it hurt to look and she couldn't make anything out.

But as her eyes adjusted, she looked up in wonder. It was a gleaming crystal as long as her arm, pure white and gleaming with a rainbow of colours. Three data rings looped around it, and as it shone a hexagon pattern spread across to form a wall between her and her passenger, who looked just as stunned as she felt.

Cautiously Iris got to her feet, gazing up at the floating crystal. Looking at it, she felt...warm...

Finally curious as opposed to frightened, she tentatively made her way towards it. The barrier pulsed as she stopped in front of it. She reached up on her toes, allowing her to brush her fingers against the crystal.

 **** _Brilliant White Flash_ ****

Another massive flash of light shook the dark corridor. For a second, she and her passenger were suspended above another world...

It was completely different from the wasteland they had just experienced...it was full of life, bustling with people...they were standing on a glowing golden street up in the sky, gleaming like data.

Iris blinked...and turned around...

There was another girl standing on the road, directly opposite to her. With a yelp, she could tell that her passenger could see her too...

Iris's lips parted in silent shock...the girl looked so much like her...!

She was a slender brunette with a long white dress. Her hair was tied up with a flower bow next to each ear. She stood silently, her blue eyes filled with a same, familiar sorrow...

She reached out...the crystal pulsed twice...

" _It's all connected..._ "

And then it was gone. They were back in the darkness.

 **** _Fade Away*_ ***

Iris blinked rapidly; having almost fallen over in surprise. Her passenger was picking himself up off the ground, grumbling in confusion and annoyance.

Now that they were separated by the barrier, Iris found the courage to approach her passenger. She stepped up to the barrier and gazed down at him...yes, he was shorter than her by a head. It was so strange.

"Who are you?" She wondered aloud.

Her passenger came up short and looked weirdly at her. Had this been the first time he'd ever been asked something like that?

He kept staring at her for a minute...this caused Iris to finally note the similarities between him... and Zero...they looked very alike. What did that mean? It seemed important to her...but she couldn't quite figure out why.

Finally, her passenger gestured pointedly to the symbol in his helmet crystal.

"Oh...your name is Omega?" Iris asked quietly.

Omega snorted in contemptuous amusement, as if to say, _No fucking shit, lady_. Iris flinched backwards just a bit, but she was emboldened by the barrier...clearly he couldn't hurt her here.

"Hello, Omega... ...my name is Iris..."

Omega tilted his head to the right and stared at her, as if to say, _so what_?

Iris's heart fell slightly...she had hoped that she could forge some sort of peaceful coexistence with this strange person...

Omega crossed his arms and looked away from her...he seemed a bit nervous, oddly enough...

Iris blinked...there were incisions on his helmet...she took a small step forward...no, it wasn't her imagination. They were small...just barely wide enough to fit medical blades through...

 _They wouldn't be there without purpose...were they meant for repairs...?_

Omega seemed to notice her scrutiny. He pulled backwards and fixed her with a harsh, angry scowl. Now, Iris stood across from him, wondering...what were those scars for?

She knew, from the painful feedback caused by the fail-safes, that Doctor Weil didn't trust Omega to obey him on his own free will. There couldn't be control in here – not within their own minds – but the mad doctor was his creator.

And something deep inside her rebelled at the idea that the reploid in front of her was capable of nothing but destruction and murder.

No sentient being was like that...it was just impossible.

Yet, she didn't think she could define Omega as a 'slave'. He stood straight and fearless with that seemingly permanent scowl, and he wasn't afraid of the Doctor like others would be. No, he hated the man, that much was obvious. Obedience may be forced of him, but it was as furious and unwilling as one could be.

He took enjoyment out of war, but did he even know anything else?

Omega twitched under her continued stare, before jerking his wrist to the right as if to say a defensive, ' _what are you staring at?_ '

"Who is that man?" Iris asked finally. "That doctor who did this to us? Who is he?"

Omega growled lowly, before waving a clawed hand. The black world shifted, transforming into an old looking laboratory surrounded by scorched, war torn earth. Inside, that outer shell armour that they had worn while attempting escape was being constructed...and sure enough, standing at the foot of one of the control panels was the old man.

" _Doctor Weil! It's spiking again!"_

" _Then put it back under! My calibrations are yet to be complete."_

"So he is your creator." Iris said, half to herself.

Omega spat on the ground, glaring furiously at the doctor's image.

"But if he built your body...what did he need with me?" Iris wondered, shuddering. "Why am I even here...?"

Omega tapped his fingers against his arms, looking away again in agitation.

This freeloader was making him feel weird. Why was she asking so many useless questions? Why was she talking so much at all?

No one talked to him, they just screamed and ran. Unless they were the doctor, barking out orders. Oh, if only he could _kill_ that smarmy old bastard...

" _ **THEY BROKE ME.**_ " He growled out finally. Iris jumped in surprise; this was the first time she'd heard him speak... " _ **AFTER THE DOCTOR'S WAR. THEY BROKE ME AND BANISHED ME WITH HIM.**_ "

"Oh..." For a moment, Iris was silent. Just when Omega was starting to relax, thinking she'd finally run out of irritating questions, she spoke up again. "You clearly don't like him much. Why do you stay with him?"

Omega stared at her, again. Was this girl stupid? Had she already forgotten about the electrical surges from just before they were put into Deep Sleep?

" _ **LIKE HE'D JUST LET ME LEAVE. HAH!"**_

Now the freeloader had a different look on her face...

In Omega's scarred, battle heavy mind, he couldn't figure out what it meant, but it wasn't contempt, or rage or annoyance, or fear or disgust – the only emotions he was familiar with.

She looked...sad? Was that the word? That didn't make sense.

"Why wouldn't he? What does he want?"

More useless questions. Omega snorted. _**"THE WORLD. ALL OF IT. FOOLISH GIRL. WHAT ELSE WOULD SATISFY HIM?**_ "

The freeloader's eyes grew clouded...

So she _did_ understand...but didn't remember why?

Omega was convinced his freeloader was insane. Or maybe the Doctor had sheered off part of her brain when he built her into this body. That would explain a lot.

 **End of Chapter**

 **So yeah, this Omega Zero is a bit younger then some of his counterparts here on the web. I imagine him as basically a the world's grumpiest twelve year old with a dozen nuclear missiles strapped to his arms.**

 **Read and Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Ultimate Program**

 _ **Wanda: Ugghh, writer's block.**_

 _ **Tyene: (looks up at the sky) hey, at least decompression should keep it away for a while.**_

 _ **Wanda: you said that about blowing it up.**_

 _ **Tyene: Hey, it worked! I refer you to the first chapter for the disclaimer.**_

 **Chapter 3: Missile Launch**

Iris was startled out of Deep Sleep by Doctor Weil and the Fake X. Omega hissed in anger, taking the driver's seat as the cryo tube was unlocked and they were free to move around again.

"T-T-The Dark Elf is in the city. I-I authorize the retrieval immediately. B-B-Bring her back here at all costs."

"Of course, Master X. It would be my pleasure."

Iris shivered a bit. Weil's voice was so oily, she was surprised it didn't leave slick tracks behind. Why any sane person would trust him, she couldn't fathom. Though it _was_ obvious that the Fake X was in league with him.

"She's finally stopped moving in the city sector. The blast will stun her long enough for Omega to collect her and bring her back here."

"G-Good. Prepare the launch."

 _City Sector?_ Iris wondered in alarm.

Omega snorted. _**Neo Arcadia is the city of humans built on dead reploids. They're about to see the price of their peace and quiet for themselves.**_

 _He's going to launch a missile strike at a town full of his own people!?_

 _ **After he hacked you apart and built you into my body, why does that surprise you?**_

 _But all those innocent people are going to die!_

 _ **Innocent?**_ Omega seemed genuinely befuddled by the description as they were loaded into the core of the missile. **_They've had thousands of our kind 'retired' so they could live like fat rats. You think them innocent?_**

 _Two wrongs don't make a right! This won't bring anyone back from the dead, Omega! It will only bring more evil and more pain._

Omega didn't respond. Iris felt a flood of confusion from her companion, as if he was measuring a bizarre, foreign concept. **_You're weird._** He decided.

A small laugh bubbled in Iris's throat, surprising her. It was such a simple, childlike remark that you could hardly believe it had come out of the mouth of a combat reploid.

 _Maybe._ She admitted. _Maybe you're right. But I trust my heart. I'm not going to let him slaughter these people. They don't all deserve to die._

Omega had no response to that; all Iris could sense was angry confusion.

 **~Launch Site~**

 _I'm not going to let the missile land._

Iris took the driver seat and examined the small room where their massive secondary body was imprisoned in. It was built with steel and titanium, and her/their arms were relatively restrained so she couldn't draw the violet great sword – it seemed that the cyberspace summons were embedded in this form's hands.

However, that was far from Omega's only weapon. Iris remembered another tactic he had used against the two Guardians way back in that cavern.

 _If I can use the plasma blasts, I can cut my way out through the ceiling. But would that stop the missile itself? The explosives aren't in here...they're further back._

Experimentally, she twisted her/their wrists. She couldn't move enough to activate the cyber space signal...but she could twist them back far enough to point the hand canons at her arms.

The armour itself was infused with chrome titanium, so it could take quite some punishment...but the bars holding them were just reinforced steel.

 _ **What are you up to?**_

Iris grimaced and shut her eyes. _This is going to hurt!_ She triggered the plasma rings.

Fiery pain burst through her arms as the attack struck home. In the back of her mind, Omega let out an incoherent and angry yell.

Iris gritted her teeth but made no noise. Her chest had been carved open. This was nothing. She fired the blast again.

The restraints melted into slag. With a triumphant cry, Iris wrenched her arms up towards the ceiling. Reaching back, she ripped the rest of the restraints – around her midsection, throat and shoulders – apart as if they were paper.

An alarm started whining.

 _ **Pseuluroids? Hah! What does that old man take me for?**_ Omega seethed as the doors opened. **_Let's frag them!_**

 _No._

 _ **No!? What do you mean no!?**_

 _We don't have to!_

Iris raised her right arm, which was still partially melted and reached into the cyber space pocket where Omega's Ride Armour body and armour were stored. Seizing the violet great sword, she drove it into the floor and carved out the floor with several strokes, even as she was being fired upon.

 _ **Hey! We're still in the air-AH FUCK!**_ Omega's complaint broke down into an indigent shriek as the floor gave out and they started falling through the air.

They landed in a park at half terminal velocity, smashing a bench on the way down. The impact left a crater below them, scaring off the nearby humans who had come to investigate. The dry grass nearby also caught fire. The outer armour shuddered under the punishment and finally dispersed, vanishing back into cyber space.

Iris lay still, her head ringing from the force of the fall. Dazed, she raised one hand above her head...small fingers, and a regular sized fist...

 _ **What the fuck is WRONG with you?!**_ Omega raged in the back of her mind. **_You do realize that I feel all this pain as well, RIGHT?!_**

 _I...I'm sorry. That was the only way down. ...Fuck, the missile! It's still moving without us._

Her vision swimming, Iris stumbled to her feet and took stock of herself.

Her body looked different than it used to, though not by much – she was still a five foot four reploid girl with long hair and blue eyes. However, she remembered her hair being brown – now it was silver. _Omega's influence, most likely._ She was wearing a red overcoat, a black kevlar suit and combat boots with boosters. Very basic armour, nothing more – but she had two weapons. One was a buster gun...the other a smaller version of the mech suit Great Sword.

Iris glanced over her shoulder – Neo Arcadian forces were starting to gather and approach the square. She could probably take them down without issue, but she didn't have much time to spare...

 _ **For the love of - - get on a roof. I'll handle this.**_

Iris hesitated for a split second. She didn't necessarily trust Omega not to kill everything in sight as soon as she relinquished control; the rage that blazed in the core of his being was still a haunting, constant presence.

But she couldn't deny that she was a terrible shot, and the missile was getting away.

Sprinting across the road, she buried her fist in the steel wall and kicked her way up. She was vaguely aware of the store owner coming out and complaining that she would have to pay for it – of all things for him to be concerned about right now!

Clawing her way to the roof, Iris holstered the saber and pulled the gun out before closing her eyes and letting Omega's influence wash over her.

 _ **You've never done this before?**_ Omega asked. He'd been exposed to some of her fragmented memories in Deep Sleep; he hadn't been very impressed.

 _No._

The sensation of Omega taking hold of her arm was unnerving; it caused hot spikes of pain and left a paralysis for a few seconds after he let go.

Omega charged the buster for a moment, took aim, and fired three blasts in rapid succession. They struck the missile's engines, causing the machine to sputter, die and fall from the sky. Iris winced a bit as it fell from the sky and crashed into the city below.

 _ **Oh, come on!**_ Omega grumped. **_That's a better result than if it had hit!_**

Iris shook her head. _I know. I'm sorry._

 _ **...Sorry?**_ Omega hadn't heard the word before. Iris shook her head slightly before tearing across the rooftops to reach the place where the missile had touched down.

The damage wasn't that bad – the missile had totalled a single building upon crashing into it and exploding. Most of the humans had already taken to their heels and run for it, leaving the smoking wreck behind.

Iris landed on the ground in the wrecked area. The missile wreckage was buried in the building; fires had started in several places.

Hovering in the sky was a beautiful creature surrounded by violent light. _This must be the Mother Elf,_ Iris realized as she looked up at the swaying elf.

"Whaa...mama! Mama!"

"Whaa...you won't take away mama!"

Iris blinked. Two smaller elves had appeared from the wreckage, one orange, the other blue. Both of them seemed powerful...and angry.

 _ **Oh, FUCK. Not those things!**_ Omega cursed.

 _What?_

 _ **The Baby Elves...!**_

Iris wasn't able to ask a follow up question, because a moment later she was struck by horrible pain in her body. The electric restraints in her/their body had been activated.

Her vision blurred. The elves were creations of Weil; that's why they could attack her/them this way. She couldn't move her body at all under the strain.

 **CRASH!**

"EAAGH!" The two baby elves screamed all of a sudden. Iris gasped when the pain suddenly came to a halt. Dazed, she stumbled back to her feet and blinked to see who had rescued her...

It was him again. Zero.

Iris hadn't even realized he was onboard; Copy X had insured there was no communication between the various parts of the missile just in case someone balked at the instructions they had been given. Seeing him again was almost as jarring as being pulled out of Deep Sleep.

 _~Flashback~_

" _Will you stop giving me so many damn heart attacks?!"_

" _There wasn't any other way down." She could almost see him grinning in his usual confident way, though they could only communicate over the earpieces._

" _I hate you," She grumbled._

 _He paused for a second. "I'm sorry I scared you." He said, his voice quieter and more sincere._

 _She started, warmth flooding her cheeks. "R-Right. Be careful, you have incoming..."_

 _~Flashback~_

Shaking her head, Iris looked up. The Mother Elf, about to flee for the third time, stopped a bare few paces away from her. A wave of violent light washed over Iris, and when she blinked, the Mother Elf had vanished again. And now she felt different...were the restraints gone?

"Mama!"

"Mama! Don't go!"

The baby elves wailed and tried to take off in pursuit, but they were slower than her.

Iris blinked, dazed. She was still shaking from the pain the two baby elves had inflicted on her, and she could sense that Copy X's army was coming closer.

Zero deactivated his saber and walked towards her. Iris turned towards him, her heart twisting into knots with unexplained emotions. But what surprised her was his expression...he looked slightly confused, and distant, as if he was trying to place something in his mind.

Iris opened her mouth to say something, before wincing when the high pitched wail of sirens drew closer and closer. "I have to get out of here..." she muttered.

She took a step before the world spun violently and she collapsed.

Zero caught her with one arm and picked her up. He looked down at her passive face, the inexplicable pain in his chest growing ever so slightly more pronounced.

"Take us back." He said simply.

 **End Chapter**

 **And so the plot thickens...**

 **Read and Review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Ultimate Program: ZX Zero**

 _ **Tyene: That took a while.**_

 _ **Wanda: My bloody DS's power switch broke is what happened. ARGH, I've never been so mad. These things are expensive to replace, damn-it! Between that an the 3DS with a non functional SD card has left me with enough to get annoyed over. Thank god for online walkthroughs, the only way I can get my Mega Man fix these days.**_

 _ **Tyene: (chuckles) The Mega Man series belongs to Capcom, though you really wouldn't think so given how they've been acting the last while!**_

 **Chapter 4: The Resistance**

" _ **Are you going to pass out every single time?"**_

Iris opened her eyes slowly. She saw a low hanging ceiling and a mostly bare room full of medical supplies. She was comfortable and her systems seemed stable. So, definitely not Neo Arcadia. Was this the Resistance then?

" _I'm sorry about that. My body was never meant to tolerate this sort of strain."_

" ** _You're connected to my healing factor. You shouldn't be passing out like a baby every time."_** Omega grumbled. In her mind's eye, Iris saw him cross his arms and turn away from her. **_"You should be adjusting to it."_**

"Ah. You're awake. Wonderful."

Iris blinked a few times before her mind registered the room's other two occupants.

Zero was standing silently next to her. Had he been there all along? The other man was on her right, holding a wrench and a nano tube...he must be the base's repair man. He stood too inches shorter than his champion, and he was wearing green robes that definitely evoked some of Omega's implanted memory of the Reploid resistance force...

Reploid...

 _I want to live in a world where only Reploids exist...with you..._

Iris's heart jerked, swamping her with more unexpected and confused emotions...she immediately felt happy and comfortable in this place...it shouldn't make any sense, reason said she should be on her guard somewhat. And yet that little happy bubble in her chest was impossible to ignore.

"Where am I?" She asked quietly, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"This is the main base of the Resistance. I'm Cerveau; I'm in charge of maintenance." The other man said, warm and friendly. "And...you probably know who's standing next to me..."

"Hello...I'm Iris..." The now silver haired girl paused for a second, uncertain of how to explain her predicament. "...And Omega..."

Cervaeu's expression grew darker. "We've heard a lot of rumours. So that's how Weil bypassed the Life Lock they put on his monster after the Elf Wars." He sat down on a chair next to her. "You've been here for three days, and I had a look at your systems."

"And...?" Iris asked nervously. Her eyes flickered over to Zero again, but he remained silent, his face mostly impassive. His eyes, however, were gleaming with sharp intensity...she felt like he could see through her.

"Well, you're both stable. I can say that much." Cervaeu frowned. "From what I can gather, you two are seperate entities connected to Omega's Ride Armour through cyberspace emitters. Your heart engine's been connected to it."

At her confused expression, Cervaeu told her with concern, "My scans say your heart engine broke down for a long period of time. By any logic, that should have killed you."

Iris flinched and gasped. For a split second, she flashed back to a dark, floating ship. Horrible pain shot through her body, like she was being melted down in an energy camp...she was struggling to reject something, a toxic, violent influence that felt little different from Omega's constant rage...

" _ **Hey! You can't blame me for that! I don't know what that is!**_ "

Omega's voice snapped her out of the flash back. Cervaeu looked at her in concern as she lay back against the medical pod. "Are you alright?"

"I...I thought I saw something. I must have imagined it." Iris said uneasily. "I...I think you're right, but I don't know why."

"Oh?" The doctor asked, surprised.

"I...I can't remember much...just broken bits and pieces..." Iris looked down at her hands. "I think...it must have happened when they were building me into Omega's body...he doesn't know what they did either."

"He?" Cervaeu said in alarm. "Omega speaks to you?"

Iris nodded. She was a little afraid, but the sense of safety she got from this place pushed her to speak more about it. "He's in my head." She lightly touched her forehead with one hand. "We...we have to share the body. We can't both control it at once."

"...He's conscious now?" Zero asked, his voice calm and remote. Iris's heart jumped again, _he just surprised me_ , she told herself...

"Yes...well, he's present, but he isn't trying to take control now..." Iris bit her lip, wondering again how to explain. "He hates Weil, hates working for him...there were fail safes to ensure he obeyed before, but...when we found the Elf, she did something. I don't think I can feel them anymore."

" _ **I want to fight the greatest Hero in history on my own terms."**_ Omega informed his companion, sounding very excited at the thought. The following hot spike of glee made Iris shiver. Whether out of fear at the thought, or sharing in his joy, she couldn't be sure. **_"Not as a slave for Weil."_**

"Huh. I admit that wasn't what I was expecting." Cervaeu mused.

"Has Weil followed us here?" Iris asked, suddenly anxious. _There is no way that old man would give us up that easily..._

"He hasn't found this place yet." Zero responded. "Cervaeu, you should go find Ciel."

"Of course." The doctor stood up. He gave Iris a small encouraging smile before exiting the room, leaving the two behind.

Iris slowly looked up at Zero again. The two sat in uncertain silence for a long minute, before the crimson sabre wielder broke it.

"I know you."

Iris nodded mutely. "I don't know how. I'm sorry," She whispered when his gaze intensified.

" _ **Oh for the love of cyberspace,"**_ Omega snapped, feeling immensely uncomfortable surrounded by Iris's mixed emotions. Not just confusion, but happiness, sorrow...a sense of despair and betrayal...? **_"Now you're getting redundant. You DO know how to talk normally, don't you?"_**

Embarrassed, Iris jumped out of the pod. Zero grabbed her arm and steadied her when she stumbled, still a bit out of sorts from her three day sleep.

"Thank you." Iris looked around, casting for a subject to talk about. "W-Who's Ciel?"

"She runs the resistance." Zero explained simply. He turned and started walking, gesturing for her to follow. The girl rushed to keep up with him. "She's one of the few humans here."

"Human...? A human started this Resistance?" The idea seemed very strange to Iris – after all, Neo Arcadia, the place where humans were happiest, was built on the destruction of Reploids...surely the humans just saw them as commodities, not functioning people, right?

"Yes." Zero didn't seem surprised by this.

There were several floors to this hideout, and Iris was amazed to see the number of Reploids who were moving from place to place, enjoying each other's company. "There's so many of them." She said, hushed. "You saved them all? You really are the hero of legends."

Zero seemed slightly taken aback by this compliment, and he looked away from her. "Some of them were here before me." He said.

They reached the door to the command centre in short time. Waiting for them there was a young woman with blonde hair and worried blue eyes. She was the same height as Iris, and she met the two arrivals with a relieved smile.

And Iris felt a sharp stab of jealousy.

 _What's the matter with me!? This woman sheltered me, even though I'm connected to the most powerful weapon of her enemy. I should be grateful..._

"Hello, Iris." Ciel said warmly, offering the Reploid her hand. Iris took it with a shy smile. "I'm glad you seem to be okay." Her gaze became a little apprehensive. "Omega...?"

Iris put her hand against her head. "He's here. I think he's resting right now, to be honest..." It would be hard to be angry all the time without getting tired eventually... "Y-You must be Ciel."

"Yes. Let me welcome you to the Resistance officially." The blonde said. "Zero brought you back from Arcadia after the missile broke down...you did that, didn't you?"

"Um, partly." Iris glanced over at Zero. "I don't think I would have gotten away if he hadn't-"

A siren burst through the building, causing both girls to wince. Zero's eyes narrowed, while Cervaeu looked grave. "I think that call is for you, Ciel..."

 _ ****~Inside the Command Centre~****_

Iris flinched when Weil appeared on screen, alongside the fake X. Now that she could think on it, she knew he was the doctor who had torn her body apart to rebuild Omega...her mind had suppressed the worst of it, but she remembered being in terrible pain the entire time...and perhaps in the distance, Omega was crying out too.

Someone put a hand on her shoulder. Iris's head snapped to the right to meet Zero's eyes. "Don't let him see you're afraid." The soldier told her quietly. "It gives him power."

"...Thank you."

Fake X was talking about...surrendering? What? Weil wanted to use the new energy system that Ciel had developed...for the greater good, obviously...

Iris didn't trust Weil as far as she could throw him when augmented by Omega, and she was grateful to see that Ciel didn't either. The blonde was torn between desperately wanting to end the war, and her fear that trusting these two would be a mistake. Iris wished she could offer the other girl some support, but she didn't want to risk interrupting the proceedings.

"...and you have Omega, and his pretty host. We want them back."

Iris tensed up.

" _ **You're not**_ **seriously** ** _considering that?!"_** Omega snapped.

" _I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me."_ Iris responded in worry.

" _ **Then kill whoever he sends to get you! Is it really not that obvious?"**_ Omega said in exasperation. **_"If you try to give up, I'll take over and refuse!"_**

"No." The answer came not from Ciel, or Iris, but Zero. Had she not been distracted by her conversation, Iris would have seen a rush of protective anger in the crimson warrior's eyes.

"No?" Fake X sounded astonished. He wasn't used to hearing that word.

"You had enslaved her." Zero responded, his voice flinty. "You have no right to her now."

Iris gasped. Zero glanced over at her and nodded in affirmation. A great rush of warmth filled her chest, and she smiled happily in response.

Fake X ordered an attack on the Resistance before cutting the feed. Ciel's shoulders slumped for a moment, before she took a deep breath and asked, "Did I make a mistake?"

"No." Zero said. "You've done everything you can, Ciel. Let me do my part now."

"I...I want to help." Iris said with determination.

" _ **Wait, what?"**_ Omega jerked in surprise. **_"Where's this sudden backbone coming from?"_**

" _It's not back-bone, Omega...I may not believe in fighting, but I know evil when I see it. And...I want to be able to prevent that. I don't want anyone else experiencing what I have at Omega's hands."_ Iris looked around the room. " _These people have already gone through so much. If I can protect them, I'm going to use all my strength to keep them safe."_

 **" _My strength."_** Omega corrected her, before grinning manically. _" **But who the hell cares? I FINALLY get to break things again!** "_

 **End Chapter**

 **That was fun. Next time, Iris takes on one of the four remaining bosses and adapts to her new Martial Pacifist status. That will be fun!**

 _ **Read and Review please!**_


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